Arkansas Wildlife Orphanage. Rescue - Rehab - Release

09/23/2026

🦝 Raccoons are adorable… but they are NOT easy animals to raise. ❤️

When an orphaned raccoon comes into rehabilitation, the goal isn’t simply to keep it alive—it’s to prepare it to successfully live without humans.

Raising a raccoon for release takes an incredible amount of time, knowledge, resources, and patience. Young kits may need frequent feedings around the clock, specialized nutrition, appropriate housing, enrichment, and careful monitoring as they grow.

But one of the most important parts of rehabilitation is teaching them how to be wild.

That means encouraging natural behaviors like:

🌿 Foraging
🌳 Climbing
🧩 Problem-solving
🦝 Appropriate social skills
🚫 Avoiding humans and other dangers

And sometimes, the hardest part of rehabilitation is not loving them too much.

A raccoon that becomes comfortable with people may have a much harder time surviving after release. What feels like affection to us can actually make it harder for a wild animal to remain wild.

Raccoons are intelligent, curious, strong, incredibly dexterous—and as they mature, those cute little babies become very capable wild animals with very specific needs.

That’s why responsible wildlife rehabilitation looks different from raising a pet.

We don’t rehabilitate wildlife to make them better pets.

We rehabilitate them so they can go home. 🌲🦝❤️

Rescue. Rehab. Release

Because wildlife belongs in the wild.

Follow Arkansas Wildlife Orphanage. Rescue - Rehab - Release for more resources and information related to wildlife.

09/13/2026

Oh, to be a coyote napping on a warm rock at Saguaro National Park.

Coyotes are built for desert life. These adaptable canines are most active around dawn and dusk, when Arizona temperatures are a little more forgiving.

They’re also opportunistic eaters, dining on everything from rodents and rabbits to insects, fruit and whatever else the Sonoran Desert puts on the menu.

Photo by Paige Wilton

09/04/2026

🚨‼️🚨

Wildlife Education 🐣🦌

🚨 You Found a Baby Wild Animal. What Should You Do?

This is one of the most important wildlife questions I get.

And the answer may surprise you:

Sometimes, the best thing you can do is… nothing.

I know that's hard.

Baby animals are adorable. They're often alone. They may look helpless.

But alone doesn't necessarily mean orphaned.

Many wild parents intentionally leave their young alone while they search for food. Baby birds learning to fly may spend time on the ground while their parents remain nearby.

So what should you do?

1️⃣ Stop and observe.
Look at the situation from a safe distance.

2️⃣ Keep people and pets away.
Your presence can stress wildlife and may prevent parents from returning.

3️⃣ Don't automatically take the animal home.
Wild animals have very specific nutritional, medical, and behavioral needs.

4️⃣ Don't give food or water unless directed by a qualified professional. Improper feeding can seriously harm young wildlife.

5️⃣ If the animal is clearly injured or truly orphaned, contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

Signs of a genuine emergency can include obvious wounds, bleeding, broken limbs, severe weakness, or other clear evidence of injury.

And here's the most important part:

❤️ The goal isn't to "save" every baby animal.

The goal is to give wildlife the best chance of remaining wild and returning to its natural environment.

Sometimes that means intervening.

Sometimes it means calling a professional.

And sometimes it means quietly walking away and letting Mom do her job.

Wildlife usually needs less human intervention than we think. 🦉🌿

If you're ever unsure, contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator or your state wildlife agency before attempting to capture or care for the animal.

08/28/2026

06/14/2026

06/13/2026

If you are tempted to care for a wild animal on your own, please ask yourself these questions first:

1. What is the best thing I can do for this animal?
If I’m having a hard time letting go of the animal now, how will I feel after I’ve really grown attached?

2. Am I prepared to deal with the legal and financial consequences of keeping a wild animal illegally? How will I feel if the animal is discovered, confiscated, and possibly euthanized?

3. Am I prepared to deal with the health consequences of someone being bitten or scratched, my pets or house becoming infested with parasites, a person or pet catching a disease, or just simple allergic reactions?

4. Can I be certain that, once I’ve released the animal back to the wild, it is capable of surviving on its own? Am I providing the best possible chance for survival?

5. How will my family and I feel if the animal dies in our care or is permanently impaired by my improper care?

Turning the animal over to a licensed/permitted wildlife rehabilitator as soon as possible is the best way to safeguard human and pet safety while providing the wild animal with the best chance of survival. Call a wildlife rehabilitator right away for advice and answers to your questions.

06/13/2026

Please leave WILDLIFE in the WILD! :)

DEER FAWN IN COVER:
A deer fawn’s instinct to stay perfectly still and quiet is how it avoids predators; the mother is likely nearby waiting for you to leave. *The AGFC prohibits the rehabilitation of deer because of the possibility of unknowingly transporting chronic wasting disease to a previously unexposed area of the state*

OWLET ON BRANCH:
Even if a baby owl or bird falls from the nest, the parents often tend to it on the ground if it is healthy until it is ready to fly.

BEAR CUBS:
Black bear cubs may look cute and cuddly, but their mom rarely leaves them for more than a short foraging run, and they can be unpredictable when the situation involves their young. The best course of action is to back away and leave the area, leaving the cubs where you found them.

Get caught up on Leave ‘abandoned’ wildlife where you find it from the AGFC.

05/25/2026